Is this what the Beastie Boys were talking about...

...when they sang, "She's Crafty?"

Since it's actually beginning to feel like FALL here (Or, at least it feels about as 'autumn-ish' as it's going to get!) I've been yearning to channel my inner Martha Stewart and make stuff.

It all started when I bought this issue of Woman's Day magazine with this candy corn wreath on the cover.  Inside, they had all these ADORABLE crafts that I knew would probably go no further than my noggin but could inspire me nonetheless.  The path to a cluttered house truly is paved with good intentions, you know!  I found this little candy corn tree thing that I really did want to make.  I even bought the items I would need to make a couple of them, certain that they would just be added to the basket of neglect and good intentions. 

Then, I needed to do something fun in between all the chaos and made a Halloween-themed candy corn tree one day.

Now, this is one form of gardening that I could really get into!

Then, I decided to make one that was more fall-themed and less 'Halloween-y.'  Since I was planning on using the same sort of bucket that I had used for the first one, I wrapped it in some leftover brown yarn and orange ribbon. 

I used the 'Autumn Mix' of candy corn for this one!  Mmmm...

7YO's class party gave me the perfect opportunity to attempt a cupcake design I found on another page in that same magaize.  (Which, in turn, was the start to my long love/hate relationship with rolled fondant!)  I didn't follow the directions exactly (I NEVER DO!) but I'm quite happy with the results anyhow.

  BOO!!!

A store-bought donut hole and some rolled fondant make these ghosts almost come to life.  (Well, as much as a ghost COULD come to life, I guess!) 

*giggle*

After making 48 of these bad boys in one hectic morning, I doubt I'll be trying this again anytime soon.  It was fun, though.  I did learn that you DON'T WALK AWAY FROM FONDANT until you're done working with it, because it will dry out and have to be rolled and formed all over again. 

Lesson learned.

Also, I found a link to another project that I just HAD TO TRY.

Since I just completed it THIS MORNING, I get to hang it for a DAY before it will pretty much be obsolete.  I guess I'd better get started on a Thanksgiving one, huh?

I had my share of swear words for the makers of Homespun....but I thought it would give the wreath a better texture...which it DID. 

I hadn't put many fall decorations up because David put that storage container in a place where I cannot get to it.  I'm not all that sure that he can get to it either without moving the trailer out of the way, so I've sort of given up on nagging him about it. 

Besides, that just means I can buy more decorations right?

The History Lesson That Didn't Happen

14YO had some of her friends come home from school with her the other day to work on a group project.  The assigment was to make a video about fitness.  One of the girls even brought a piece of 'equipment' with her.

I was folding laundry in the other room when I heard another girl ask her about this particular 'thing.'

"What's that?"

"I don't know.  I got it from my grandma."

"What does it do?"

"I don't know.  But, you're supposed to push on this part here and here or something."

They spoke about the thing in question like it was some sort of artifact that was dug up with a wooly mammoth or something.  As I paired the last two socks and put them on the pile, I peeked around the corner to see what they were talking about.

It was a ThighMaster. 

I could have easily gone into what the ThighMaster is and ask if they'd heard of Suzanne Somers or Three's Company or any of that, but I had a feeling it would end would me feeling even older than I already did.

Between that and all the giggling, I have to say that I was already feeling pretty freaking old anyhow.

Who says having kids keeps you young?

'We don't HAVE a dog!!!"

Okay, so I will warn you right now that this is a bit mean-spirited.  I doubt anyone is this 'blogosphere' will read this and know that I am talking about them specifically...but you never know!

Okay...so I have these neighbors, right?  They have kids.  Their kids are not the same ages as mine, but they live just a little down the road and we know each other enough to say 'hello' in passing.  That's about it, though. 

Sorry...I have to stifle my giggles to type correctly...

A couple of years ago, we found a stray dog running around our neighborhood.  Somehow, they always manage to find us.  It was a sweet little male miniature pinscher  that we ended up keeping for a good three or four weeks before he was claimed...but that's a whole other story!  He was discovered in the middle of summer in the afternoon.  I put him in the car and drove around to the houses up and down our street to see if anyone knew where he lived.   (Don't judge me.  While I do admit to being quite 'sloth-like' by nature, we all have 2+ acre lots and our houses are very far apart so I had to drive if I wanted to get anywhere)  As I carried him up to this one house, a woman answered the door.  I asked her if this was her dog or if she knew where it belonged.  In a surprisingly defensive sort of way, she snaps back with, "We don't HAVE a dog!!!" 

Okay.  I'm not sure if she thought I was trying to pawn the dog off on her or maybe assuming one could have a pet dog could be taken as an insult.  Maybe in CRAZY WORLD asking her if she had a dog was along the same lines as insulting her mother.  It just wasn't an appropriate reaction to such a simple question.  I thanked her for her time and moved on to the next house. 

Now, fast forward two years. 

This past summer, we found another dog wandering the neighborhood at night.  This was a big yellow lab.  She was gorgeous, and she looked well cared-for but lost so we put her in our car and took her home.  We stopped by a few neighbors' houses to see if they might know her.  She did actually look a lot like a dog that I had seen being walked around one of the daughters of the woman who "didn't have dogs!" two years ago. I stopped by there to see if this was their dog.  Once again, the same woman answers the door.  Once again, she immediately snaps, "We don't HAVE a dog!!!" 

This time, I knew better. 

"Really?  Because I could have sworn that I saw your older daughter walking a dog that looks a lot like this one up and down the street.  I think her name was '****?'

Her younger daughter stood at the door and told me, "Yes, we have ****.  Actually, we have two dogs in the backyard."

But they don't have dogs, right?

RIGHT???

So, you can imagine my surprise when a loose dog turned up at our house yesterday afternoon and it ended up being THEIR DOG.  Before I knew who the dog belonged to, I was half-tempted (the hateful, bratty half anyway!) to go up to their door and ask if it was their dog.  (Of course, at that time I was assuming that it was not, in fact their dog.)  I just wanted her to snap at me about not having dogs while being able to hear their dogs barking from the backyard the whole time.  You know, to back up my whole 'crazy theory.'

Sometimes, irrational people amuse me.